Rest In Peace
by JackiLeigh
Summary: What if Kate killed Ari?


REST IN PEACE

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: I wanted Kate to live so she's back. I know nothing about how live video works, so I was flying by the seat of my pants on my made-up version of the technology.**

**I can't remember if the episode with Ari in the lab occurred in the first or second season, so my time line might be off a little, please forgive me. ENJOY.**

"Where's Dinozzo?" Gibbs said walking into the bullpen, coffee cup in hand.

Kate volunteered, she had been trying Tony's phones since 1 p.m. it was now 1:30 p.m. Tony had been due back to work at 1 p.m. "I can't get him on his personal or work cell phones."

McGee spoke up, typing away at his computer. "His work cell is turned off. I can't get a GPS location."

"Where did he go after lunch?" Gibbs said getting audibly and visibly irritated.

"He was talking to the hostess when Kate and I walked out. She was blonde, petite, really cute." McGee turned his attention back to the computer scene when his computer beeped indicating he had received an email. It was marked "DiNozzo," He clicked on the email and then the link. Ari's video filled his screen. "Oh, my god! Tony!"

At the mention of Tony's name Gibbs was around McGee's desk in seconds, staring at his monitor. "Put it up on the plasma, McGee."

Gibbs, Kate and McGee stood, staring in horror at the scene being played out on the screen. The room was dim and the picture was not of a good quality. They could see Tony sitting tied to a chair, his chin resting on his chest. They could see the blood staining his white shirt, and they could hear him groaning and struggling to breathe. They could see that he was tied around his chest. Each ankle was tried to a chair leg and his hands were tied behind the chair back.

McGee's fingers were on the keyboard again working feverishly. "Boss, it appears to be streaming video. I can break the code for the source, but it will take a while." McGee saw the look on Gibb's face and explained. "The video is live."

Tony slowly opened his eyes. His head was aching and he tasted blood. He tried to move. As he looked around the dim room, he was in he realized he was tied to a chair. He struggled to move his arms and legs, but realized the bonds were too secure.

"Agent DiNozzo, we finally meet." Ari moved into the light so that he could be seen. "I think it is good for a man to know who his killer is." Ari made a quick motion with his foot, hitting Tony square in his chest. The action sent the chair toppling over, cracking 2 of Tony's ribs and causing him to loss consciousness when his head hit the concrete floor. Ari then went over to him and kicked him twice in the chest, as hard as he could.

Ari righted the chair. Tony's eyes flew open. He groaned loudly, almost screaming, as the ropes that were across his chest holding him in the chair, cut into his ribs.

"Agent DiNozzo, you know what this is about. I want Gibbs to suffer. I want you to talk to Agent Gibbs. I want you to tell him I have you. Tell him what I have planned for you." Ari paused. "I have been recording this whole time. I just sent the link to Gibbs. I want him to watch you die. He couldn't trace the call. He won't be able to trace the origin of the video transmission." Ari kicked Tony in the chest again, only this time it wasn't hard enough to knock the chair over.

"You know when Gibbs finds you, he WILL kill you." Tony said, blood streaming out of the corner of his mouth. "If I die, there won't be a safe place on this EARTH for you." Tony smiled. "You will be looking over your shoulder the rest of your life." A fit of coughing hit and Tony doubled over, as much as the ropes would allow. The coughing slowly subsided, and he straightened up, more blood now staining the front of his shirt. "See, that is the thing about us Americans. We take care of one another. I know you are going to die, as sure as I am sitting here. I may not be around to see it, but I KNOW it's going to happen." Tony groaned and his head fell forward onto his chest as he lost consciousness.

"Agent DiNozzo?" Ari said, grabbing Tony by the hair and pulling his head up, he let go and it fell back to his chest. "Agent DiNozzo, you have got to be awake for this." He took his fist and pressed it hard into the middle of Tony's chest. Tony's head flew up, his eyes popped open and he screamed.

Ari then turned his attention to the camera. "Well, Gibbs, you should be seeing this by now. Yes, it is playing in real time. You just saw what I did to your Agent DiNozzo. He is dying Gibbs. He's bleeding internally; I estimate 3 or 4 broken ribs. He probably has a concussion, if not brain damage. He's been coughing up blood for the past 30 minutes. You'd better hurry." Ari taunted Gibbs.

Ari moved to the other side of the room and pulled the only other chair in the room alongside Tony. He pulled a phone out of his pocket. He sat down and dialed the number to NCIS. He placed it to Tony's mouth.

Gibbs snatched the phone off the cradle mid-ring. "Tony?"

"Boss." Tony said, barely above a whisper.

"Where are you?" Gibbs motioned to Kate and Tim that Tony was on the line. Kate carefully picked up the phone on her desk and McGee sat about trying to trace the call.

"Ari is going to kill me. Kate. Tim. I'm so sorry." Tony groaned into the phone.

Ari then spoke into the phone. "It will be too late by the time you find him. I'm going to take it out on your agent here that I didn't get Caitlin or Abigail." Ari hit Tony in the face, making sure Gibbs could hear the blow. Tony groaned loudly and spat out a small amount of bright red blood. "You have better hurry up if you want to 'save' your agent, Agent Gibbs." Ari hung up, he smiled down at Tony. Ari then kicked him hard in the chest, sending the chair toppling over on its side. Tony didn't move this time. The blow had broken two more ribs and the fall had caused him to strike his head hard on the cement floor, knocking him out.

"Boss," McGee said typing madly at his keyboard. "I couldn't pick up a trace on the call."

Gibbs had seen enough. His anger getting the better of him, he grabbed his gun from his desk. He loaded his clip and started towards the elevator. "Let's move! McGee, have Abby work on the video. Come on, lets go!"

"Abby," Tim said as Abby picked up the phone. "We have video for you to look at." Tim paused. "It's Tony, Abby. Ari has him. He's…hurting Tony."

"OMG." Abby said, stunned.

"It's live video, we're on our way to find Tony now." Tim said, balancing the phone and his laptop as the elevator descended to the garage level. He transferred the link.

"TIM!" Abby said as she saw the first images.

"We'll find him." Tim stated, he could tell she was crying. "We WILL find him." Tim repeated and then hung up.

"Where are we going, Boss?" Kate asked putting her loaded gun into her holster and stepping onto the elevator.

"To find Tony!" Gibbs said.

As they piled into the elevator, Tim asked. "Why was he apologizing about me and Kate?"

Gibbs stared at the flashing numbers, wishing the elevator would descend faster. "He thinks that either Ari has one or both of you hostage, or that Ari has killed one or both of you. That is probably what Ari had to tell Tony to get Tony to go with him and not draw any attention on the street."

Tim and Kate were stunned and rode to the rest of the way in silence.

Tony was sitting upright, still tied to the chair when he woke up. He was having trouble breathing and he could really taste the blood now. He felt an overwhelming urge to cough, but each cough brought excruciating pain, like hot pokers in his chest.

Ari knelt down to be eye level with Tony. "The pain you are feeling now is nothing compared to what I am going to do to you." Ari moved to the chair that was still sitting beside Tony's and sat down. "I am trained in how to inflict pain. I know how long a person can go without food and water before they break, before they start hallucinating, before they begin to die inside, their organs fail." He stood up and smiled down at Tony. "Agent DiNozzo, you won't live long enough for any of that to happen. You are bleeding internally. Your lungs are filling up with blood." He bent down and looked Tony in the eyes. "It's getting harder and harder to breath."

Gibbs, Kate and McGee loaded into the car. "What did you see in the video?" Gibbs asked no one in particular.

Kate spoke up first. "I really didn't see anything, it was so dim. But I thought I heard a train. It was 1:30 p.m."

McGee had has his laptop open on his lap and was typing away. "I thought I saw what looked like meat hooks hanging from the ceiling. I know I saw metal tables.

"So, we have a train tracks beside a what, a meat packing plant? Find locations in DC and Virginia." Gibbs said driving out of the navy yard to some as-yet unknown, destination.

"It's a long shot, Gibbs." Kate said, hanging on as Gibbs stepped on the gas.

"What else do we have, Kate?" Kate nodded a quiet understanding and prayed for all she was worth that they would find Tony in time.

"There are two meat processing plants in the DC area which have train tracks beside them, two with trains that run at 1:30 p.m. Arrington Processing at 1235 Bullet Avenue, 3 miles from NCIS, and Billings Processing at 2236 Grayson Boulevard, 9 miles away, the Virginia locations are still coming through."

"You bastard, what did you do with them?" Tony spat fresh blood onto the floor. "Are they both dead?"

Ari didn't speak, he just looked down at Tony and smiled.

"What did you do to them?" Tonys said, angry, challenging. He was weak, but he still struggled to get free.

Ari laughed. "What are you going to do it me? A concussion, broken ribs, and probably a punctured lung, if I untied you right now, you would fall in the floor."

"Untie me, then. Let's see what I can do to you." Tony glared at him, defiant.

"Fine." Ari said, taking out his knife and untying Tony. "Let's see."

Tony lunged at Ari as soon as Ari stood back up. They both fell to the ground. Tony screamed from the impact. He landed on top of Ari plunging the knife he had had hidden in his pants pocket into Ari's chest. Ari, surprised at Tony's action, groaned in pain and frustration. Tony then passed out. Ari pushed Tony's unconscious body off of him, pulled the knife out of his chest and let it fall to the floor. Just then Ari heard a car door slam and a gunshot. He imagined someone was shooting the lock off the door to the building. Ari knew he would not be able to leave the way he had come on and not be seen. He decided to wait in the shadows, hoping to catch either Kate or Gibbs by surprise.

"We can't wait." Gibbs took a hard right onto Bullet Avenue and raced the 2 miles to Arrington's Meat Processing. Their search produced nothing. Angry that precious time had been wasted, they piled into the car again and raced to Billings Processing on Grayson Boulevard. Gibbs parked just feet from the front door. He, McGee and Kate got out of the vehicle carefully, unsure if Ari was still at the location. Gibbs shot the lock off the door and McGee and Kate followed closely, their guns drawn. "Kate, McGee look around down here. I'm going upstairs." He pointed with his gun to the metal staircase. "If you see Ari... ."

After looking in three rooms Gibbs entered a long room at the back of the processing plant. He stopped short when he saw a figure, motionless on his side on the floor. He considered it could be Ari, waiting to kill him. He advanced slowly, gun drawn. It was then he heard moaning and weak coughing. He moved quickly and knelt down beside Tony. Gibbs put his hand on Tony's shoulder and quietly said his name. There was no response. He then called his name a little louder and squeezed his shoulder. There was still no response.

"Kate! Tim! Up here!" Gibbs yelled. He noticed the ropes that had been cut which were laying around the chair he had seen in the video. He then pulled out his phone and called 9-1-1.

Kate turned to the staircase at the sound of Gibbs voice. At that moment Ari stepped out of the shadows. "Kate." He smiled at her. "I never thought I would see you again. But, I hoped I would get another chance to kill you." Standing close enough to grab her, he took her arm and tried to pull her into the shadows.

McGee automatically raised his gun prepared to fire. Kate shot him a quick look and he lowered his gun.

Ari smiled, seeing Tim lower his gun. "I can't believe you are not going to shoot me. I knew Americans were soft."

"We have unfinished business, Ari." Kate, by this time, had her knife in her hand. She plunged it into his chest far as the blade would go. "That's for me." Ari took a step back, a shocked look on his face. Kate also stepped back and drew her gun. "This is for Tony." She fired, shooting Ari between the eyes. He was dead before he hit the ground.

Gibbs appeared at the top of the stairs. Kate looked up at him. "Ari is dead. That was the shot you heard. Where is Tony? Is he OK?" She re-holstered her gun as she ran up the stairs, taking two at a time. Kate and Tim entered the room Tony was in seconds later, following Gibbs. Kate immediately went over to Tony. She knelt down beside him. "Tony?" She touched the side of his face that was not bruised.

McGee went over the camera. "Hey, Abs. He's alive." He said into the camera lens. "Ari's dead. We'll see you back at the lab. We'll send the camera over ASAP." McGee then unplugged the camera and got it ready for transport.

By this time the ambulance had arrived. They loaded Tony onto a stretcher. He was still unconscious and unresponsive.

"Gibbs." Kate turned to him as the stretcher left the room. "I'm riding with Tony. He needs somebody with him."

Gibbs just nodded and Kate followed the EMTs out of the room and out of the building. She took her place at the head of Tony's stretcher and the ambulance headed to DC Memorial Hospital. Ari's body was not at the bottom of the stairs when Gibbs came down. It was in transport to Ducky.

Ducky smiled as Ari's body was brought into the morgue. "Well, we meet again, you bastard." Ducky said as he unzipped the body bag and revealed Ari's body. "I want you to know, Gerald STILL has to take physical therapy. That night you kidnapped him you re-injured his shoulder. His doctor told him he would never be able to do this work again. He lost the fine motor skills needed to make incisions and the like. I have missed him. I have a very capable assistant now, of course. But Gerald had been with me for a long time. I consider him a good friend. His leaving is a great loss to NCIS." Ducky undressed the body as he talked. "Tony is going to make it. Despite what you did to him. He's a resilient young guy. He's a great agent. I don't know what you said to make him go with you. I don't know what you did to him to get him to that warehouse, but whatever it was, your plan for him didn't work." Ducky finished his routine observation and picked up his scalpel to cut into the body. "At any rate, all's well that ends well. And your ending up here on my table really was for the best. I will get to weigh your liver after all."

Gibbs followed close behind the ambulance, his mind on other things as he navigated the busy DC traffic. He was angry Tony was hurt. He was angry at Tony for not being more careful. He was angry at Kate and McGee for not protecting Tony. He was angry he hadn't protected Tony. McGee were also silent, angry at himself and Kate for not being there when Tony needed them.

Gibbs looked over at Tim. "How did it happen?"

"After you yelled down to us you had found Tony, we ran towards the stairs." Tim paused. "Ari stepped out of the shadows, he surprised us both. He grabbed Kate. I drew my gun. Kate gave me this 'look' and I lowered my weapon. Ari made some comment about Americans being soft." Tim paused again. "I guess that gave Kate enough time to get her knife. I know I was surprised to see it. She stabbed him. I guess after what happened in the morgue… ." Tim didn't bother to continue on that thought. "She told Ari 'That's for me.' Ari looked shocked. Kate stepped back, drew her gun, and shot him between the eyes. She said 'That's for Tony.' Ari was dead before he hit the ground."

Gibbs nodded when Tim finished the story, never taking his eyes off the road. He parked the car in the first available parking spot near the emergency room entrance and raced inside with Tim at his heels.

It was determined the need for surgery was immediate to repair a punctured lung. X-rays also revealed a skull fracture, 4 broken ribs and 2 cracked ribs. Tony was taken to the Operating Room on the 5th floor. The surgery took 3 hours and was a success.

Meanwhile, Gibbs and Tim met Kate in the OR waiting room. They paced the floors. "He never opened his eyes the whole time he was in the ambulance." Kate said absently, looking at the blood on her hands.

Gibbs took Kate by the arm and led her to the OR doors. "Tim told me what you did. Are you OK?

"I'm fine about Ari. But Tony, if he dies because of what Ari did to him… ."

Gibbs took her by both shoulders. "Tony is going to be fine."

"I should have killed Ari in the lab. I should have stabbed him then, when I had the chance." Kate felt the tears coming; she made no effort to stop them.

"You finished the job, Kate." Gibbs removed his hands from her shoulders. "Tony is not going to blame you for this."

Kate nodded, fishing out her phone. "I need to call Abby about his clothes." She said to Gibbs. Kate dialed the lad and waited for Abby to answer. "We found him, Abby."

"I saw it on the video." Abby said, very upset.

"He's going to be fine. He's in surgery now, but he's going to be fine." Kate said, more to reassure Abby than what she actually believed.

"You didn't see it all the way through. Ari really hurt him."

"I don't WANT to see it all the way through. Ari will never hurt anybody again." Kate replied, trying to blink back the tears. She absently wiped her face with the back of her hand.

"Tony was right." Abs said.

"What are you talking about Abby? What was Tony right about?" Kate asked, confused.

"It was part of the video you didn't see. I guess it was recorded before Ari sent you the live feed. Tony told Ari he was going to die. Tony said he might not be around to see it. But he said he knew Ari was not going to live much longer. Tony told Ari that if he died, Gibbs would never stop looking for him." Abby said, she had watched the video through only one. She had cried through most of it. She had put aside a copy for NCIS evidence, but she knew she would never watch it again.

"Gibbs didn't kill Ari, I did." Kate paused then she changed the subject. "Abby, Tony's clothes will be coming to you by messenger. They are on their way. Since we know who did this, Gibbs said to examine the clothes for anything unusual."

"Take care of him, Kate." Abs said.

"I will." Kate replied, and then she hung up.

McGee said nothing after telling Gibbs what Kate had done. He understood why she had wanted to take care of Ari herself. He didn't have a problem with that. He had never seen anyone being beaten before. He had never seen anything so brutal. His background in computers offered him nothing on how to deal with a situation like this.

"Tim," Gibbs said seeing the expression on McGee's face. "You never get used to seeing anybody tortured, even if you absolutely 'hate' the person and wish him the absolute worst fate. You still feel ... 'disturbed' when you see it. When it's a friend, it hurts. It pisses you off, but it hurts so much more."

McGee just nodded, speechless.

Gibbs smiled. "DiNozzo is a tough pain-in-the-ass. He will be just fine."

Both Tim and Kate smiled at that.

Gibbs phone rang. "Hey, Abs." He said as he quickly glanced at the number.

"How is he?" Abby's voice was frantic; she barely waited for Gibbs to finish speaking.

"He is going to be OK, Abby." Gibbs said firmly. "He is still in surgery, but he is going to make it through this. I promise you that."

"You're right Gibbs." 'Tony is going to be fine. Tony is going to be fine. TONY is GOING to be fine.' " Abby muttered. "Thanks Gibbs that really helped. So, on to what I found. There was blood, sweat and saliva on Tony's shirt. Most of the blood was Tony's, a little from Ari. I found some kind of dirt and 'grease' on the right sleeve of his shirt and on the right leg of his pants. I found this weird," Abby said, beginning to ramble." I thought that processing plants were supposed to be clean. I would have never thought there would be that much dirt, if any there."

"Well Abby, I am not sure what it means, or if it even matters, now that Ari is dead, but find out what you can about it. Thanks, Abs." Gibbs said, and then hung up.

Kate pulled Gibbs aside. "Abby watched the video all the way through. She said Tony told Ari that if he died, you would never stop looking for him. She said Tony smiled at him when he said it. She said he really thought he was going to die, but he knew that we would make it right if he did."

Gibbs smiled, but said nothing.

Tony opened his eyes slowly. The pain was gone and he could tell he was no longer in the warehouse. It took him a minute to realize he was lying in a hospital bed. His head was aching and he was very nauseated. He tried to raise his head. He felt like he was going to throw up.

"Mr. DiNozzo, you can't sit up Mr. DiNozzo." The nurse, Sabrina, said pushing gently on his shoulders.

He lowered himself carefully onto the bed. His head was aching and the nausea had not passed. "Throw up."

"Mr. DiNozzo, you won't throw up. You're having a bad reaction to the anesthesia. It will go away when the effects of the anesthesia wear off. You are in the recovery room. You will be in here until the nausea passes. We have already given you medication for pain. If you need to cough, use this pillow, like this." She hugged a pillow to her chest, and then laid the pillow on his bed. "It'll ease the pain."

Tony left surgery and the recovery room 4 hours after he was brought in. He was put into the Surgical ICU. The operation repaired a puncture in his right lung, and stabilized his broken ribs.

"Agent Gibbs," One of the ICU nurses said coming out of the door to the ICU. "We have Agent DiNozzo in a room now. Go on in. I'll get his doctor to come and talk to you." She then led Gibbs, McGee and Kate to one of the many rooms in the ICU unit. The whole unit formed a semi-circle of single-occupancy glass-front walled rooms which surrounded a central nurses' station. The nurses could see into all the rooms from this location. The nurse led them to a room just three rooms down from the door they had just entered.

Doctor Amy Chandler came to the door several minutes later. She got Agent Gibbs attention and motioned for him to come out into the hall. "Hello, I'm Doctor Chandler." She extended her hand and Gibbs accepted it. "Agent DiNozzo came through the surgery fine, but the anesthesia made him really sick." She paused. "I have to caution you. Don't let what you see in there upset you. He is on a respirator. He has chest tubes to drain the fluid off his lungs so that he can breathe. He has been put into a medicine-induced coma. If he were awake now, the pain would be unbearable." The doctor paused a moment to let what she had said penetrate. "Please don't stay any longer then 15 minutes." She paused. The doctor could read Gibbs worried expression; everybody got the same look on their face when the word 'respirator' was mentioned. "It sounds much worse than it really is. Agent DiNozzo's body just needs a chance to heal. That's the reason for the respirator."

The room was dim, allowing Gibbs and the team to see only a form on the bed. They could hear Tony breathing, deep and steady. He had been put on a respirator to allow his body time to heal. They were told that it would stay in place probably 3 to 4 days and then would be removed pending marked improvement in Tony's condition. They could hear a heart monitor, its beeps showing a steady rhythm. When they stepped into the room, they could see that the right side of his face was bruised. What they could see of his chest, had been bruised badly. The rest was covered by a large white bandage. He had two chest tubes in place, one on each side of his chest. There were leads placed at strategic spots on his chest.

Kate moved to the far side of the bed. She slipped her right hand into his left and used the back side of her left hand to brush his cheek.

"Tony." Gibbs leaned down just inches away from Tony's face. He took Tony's other hand. "I don't know if you can hear me or not, but Kate and Tim are fine. Ari never had them. He just told you that so that you wouldn't put up a fight."

McGee stepped closer to the bed to the side Kate was on. He put his hand on Tony's shoulder and squeezed it briefly.

Gibbs, Kate and Tim stayed at the hospital an hour. Then they said goodbye to Tony and returned to NCIS.

Ducky was upstairs waiting for Gibbs and the team when they returned from the hospital. "How is Anthony?"

"He's in what the doctor called a medicine-induced coma. He is on a respirator. He has two chest tubes. The doctor said the anesthesia made him really sick. He has some broken ribs, some cracked ribs, a punctured lung, and a concussion." Gibbs said, he could feel himself getting angry again. "If Ari wasn't already dead... ."

"I thank God that he is Jethro." Ducky said. "Which is the reason I am up here. Cause of death is officially the gunshot wound. However, two wounds were fatal. The third was potentially fatal." He paused. "As for Anthony, that type of coma is induced usually for two reasons. The patient would be in extreme pain if allowed to remain conscious, or the patient has extensive injuries. I suspect both would apply to Anthony. The doctors use pain medication to simulate a coma-like state so that the body has time to heal. That is also the reason for the respirator. Back to this third wound... ."

"Third wound? What third wound?" Gibbs asked as he, Kate, and Tim stared at Ducky.

Ducky turned his attention to Kate. "I gather you, Kate, inflicted two wounds a gunshot wound and a stab wound."

Kate nodded.

Ducky nodded and continued. "That then leaves one wound unaccounted for."

A voice came drifting down from upstairs. "Agent Gibbs." Director Shepard called. "Tony/ Agent DiNozzo. Is he OK?" She asked coming down the stairs. "Ari's dead, right?"

"Tony made it through surgery. He's in ICU. He's on a respirator, and in a coma. Ari is dead. He's downstairs." Gibbs said, coming to the bottom of the stairs.

"Tony's in a coma!" Jenny repeated stunned.

"Director, it is not as bad as it sounds. The coma has been medically induced to allow Tony's body to heal." Ducky spoke up.

By this time, Abby had come upstairs. She joined Gibbs and Ducky at the bottom of the stairs. "He's OK? Really, he's OK?" She paused. "I made a copy of the video. It's horrible. It is about 10 minutes long. I have it here, if you want to see it." Abby handed the CD to Gibbs, then backed away. "I don't want it in my lab anymore. I don't care what you do with it."

"You watched the whole thing, Abby." Kate asked.

Abby nodded, tears streaming down her face. She went to Gibbs and hugged him.

"You did a good thing, Kate." Ducky put his hands on her shoulders. "Ari will never again come after you or Abby or Tony."

Ducky released Kate and turned to the team. "But I still have the issue of this third wound. Ari was stabbed in right chest. The wound was deep. It punctured his lung."

"Ducky, it was Tony." Abby said. The team and the director all turned to look at her. "Tony kept asking Ari, what have you done with THEM? Where are THEY? Ari wouldn't answer. Tony got angry, he challenged Ari. Tony started struggling to get free. Ari laughed at him. He told Tony that if he let Tony go, Tony would fall in the floor. As soon as Ari untied Tony, Tony jumped him. Tony knocked Ari to the ground and stabbed him. Tony had a knife in his pocket. He got it out as soon as Ari untied his hands. Tony screamed when he and Ari fell to the floor. Tony must have passed out after he stabbed Ari. He didn't move. Ari had to push him off to get up. Ari pulled the knife out and then he moved somewhere out of camera range. The next thing I saw was Gibbs bending down to check on Tony."

Director Shepard spoke up. "What video? What are you talking about?"

Gibbs explained. "Apparently, Ari wanted me to see what he was doing to Tony, as he did it. He set up a video camera and sent us a video link. He then called me and put Tony on the phone for a few seconds. I saw him on the video talking to me. Ari said Tony was dying and that I needed to find him quick if I wanted to save him."

"Oh, my god... !" The director couldn't believe her ears. "I think I need to take a look at this." Jenny took the CD from Gibbs. He made no effort to take it back. "As much as I don't want to, I think I need to." The director turned on the stairs and headed back up to her office. Gibbs went up after her.

Jenny watched the video in stunned silence. She turned to Gibbs when it ended. "I greatly underestimated Agent DiNozzo. I apologize for that."

Gibbs sighed. "We both owe him an apology." He paused. "I think Tim and Kate need to see this."

Jenny looked at him. "You, apologize?"

"It happens, not often. But it happens." Gibbs smiled.

Kate and Tim were called into the office. Ducky asked permission and tagged along. They too watched the video much the same way Jenny and Jethro did, in stunned silence. Gibbs spoke up. "I wanted you to see this because I never again want either of you to question Tony's devotion to his friends or his job."

Gibbs ended up in autopsy by the end of the day. Ducky and Jimmy was just putting Ari's body into storage when Gibbs arrived. "We'll leave if you need us to." Ducky said, when he saw Gibbs had entered autopsy.

"That's OK Duck. That is nothing I have to say to this bastard that can't be heard." Jimmy stepped back and left the tray out. Gibb walked over to the body and looked down. "You have made my life Hell for almost a year now. You shot Gerald and wounded him. You tried to shot Kate and Abby, and missed both times." Gibbs smiled. "That must have really pissed you off. Imagine, an assassin, losing his touch. Is there such a thing as an old assassin's home?" Gibbs laughed and paused, then he got serious. "Tony means a lot to me. I thought you were finished when you came after both the women on my team and failed. I never thought you would go after Tony. I underestimated you there. I let down my guard, and it may still cost Tony his life. He didn't deserve what you did to him. He didn't deserve to be tortured just because he's a member of my team."

"Jethro… ." Ducky said, seeing how angry and hurt Gibbs was.

"I warned Kate. I pulled her aside and told her to be extra careful. Abby too, I told her to take precautions. I NEVER thought he would come after Tony." Gibbs said, trying to calm down, but doing a bad job of it.

"I saw the video. Tony would have done whatever he had to do to protect Kate and McGee. He feels its part of his responsibility, as senior field agent, to protect them. You know that." Ducky went over to Ari's body and stood on the other side, facing Gibbs.

"I should have warned Tony to be more careful. I should have told him Ari might come after him too." Gibbs said, finally calming a little.

"It wouldn't have mattered, Jethro. If Ari told Tony that he had Kate and McGee Tony would have died to get them back. You saw the video. From a medical standpoint Tony committed suicide doing what he did. It was amazing he had the strength to stand up, much less pull the knife out of his pocket and stab Ari. When Tony fell, he could have broken another rib and punctured his lung again or his heart. He could have driven an already broken rib into a lung or into his heart. If he had punctured his heart, he would have been dead in minutes." Ducky's voice became almost pleading. "Tony knew what he was about to do could kill him. You could tell on his face. If he was going to die he was going to take Ari with him." Ducky smiled. "I owe our young Anthony a huge apology."

Gibbs smiled a little. "That seems to be going around."

Kate waited for Ducky to leave for the day. She wanted to see Ari alone. She walked over to the wall of doors and hesitated only slightly. She looked around the room again, reliving their first meeting, almost expected Ari to be standing there, in the shadows like the first time, waiting for her. Kate went to the door, Number 6, and opened it. She was relieved to see Ari lying there. She pulled the tray out and stared at him a moment before speaking. "Well, you bastard. We meet again. This particular meeting should have happened a year ago. I should have stabbed you when I had the chance the first time. If I had, my friend would not be in the hospital right now in critical condition. You hurt him. You hurt him badly. You tortured him and you made us watch. I have to say, I enjoyed seeing the surprise on your face when I stabbed you. I could tell you were surprised when I then pointed a gun at you. I didn't realize Tony had already stabbed you. I am really glad he got a shot at you though. You didn't win Ari. Tony will survive this. He will be fine. I just wish HE had the opportunity to see you like this. But you know what. I think Ducky will be more than happy to show him your autopsy pictures." Kate stood silent for a moment taking in the two chest wounds and bullet wound in the center of his forehead. She then pushed his tray back in and closed the door.

Abby had come to see Tony shortly after she had turned the video over to Gibbs. She needed to see that he was OK. Abby sat in the chair beside the bed, holding his hand, most of the time. But, she had not been able to stay in one spot too long. She had paced the room, visited the nurses' station numerous times and had flipped through every channel on the hospital TV at least a dozen times; Abby felt the urge to tell him what had been going on. "I made of copy of Ari's video. I gave it to Gibbs. The director didn't even know it existed."

She watched Tony breathe, as the respirator breathed for him, rather. She touched his face, willing him to be OK.

"I had to make one for evidence." Abby continued, taking his hand again. "It was horrible, Tony, what he did to you. Ducky was very glad to have Ari in autopsy." Abby paused again. "Kate killed him, you can hear the shot on the video. Kate blames herself for what happened to you. Gibbs has calmed down, a little. Tim, I think, is having a rough time. His computer background didn't prepare him for this." Abby stood up and gently laid his hand back by his side, but never removed her hand from his. "I underestimated you as a person and as an agent, and I am sorry. I have always thought of you as this frat boy, looking for a good time, who just happened to be an NCIS agent." She squeezed his hand. "I apologize for never looking deeper than that. You deserve better."

Abby headed down to the morgue after she returned from seeing Tony. She was still angry. She was angry Ari had shot at her at the place she felt safest in the world, her lab. She was very angry Tony was hurt. She went over to the door in which his body was located and opened it. She slowly pulled the drawer out and stood looking at him.

"Ari, I am glad you're dead. I guess you knew Tony was in the lab when you shot at me. He saved my life. He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me out of range of the windows." She stared down at him. "That must have pissed you off. Is that why you went after him, he saved my life? You missed Kate. You missed me, so you went after Tony. I don't' know WHAT you said, or did to him to get him into the warehouse. But it must have been huge. He wouldn't have gone voluntarily." Abby paused, walking around to the other side of the body. "Did you tell him you had done something to Kate, or McGee, maybe even Gibbs. I know you had to drug him at some point. He wouldn't have let you tie him up. I will just have to wait for him to wake up and recover enough to tell us what happened." Abby paused again. "Tony will recover. You lost Ari. You lost in the worst kind of way." Abby began pushing the drawer back in. "You deserved everything that happened to you." Abby shut the door and walked away.

Kate came into Tony's hospital room shortly after Abby left. She had wanted to talk to Tony alone. She went to the same side of the bed Abby had been on and slipped her hand into Tony's. "I saw the video, the whole thing. I have never seen you really angry, not angry enough to kill anyone before. It was intimidating as hell." Kate paused and smiled, squeezing his hand to let him know she was there. "I am so sorry for the way I have treated you. I never knew you could be so unselfish and caring. I like that side of you. It's my fault you're laying here. I'm so sorry. If I had stabbed Ari when we were in autopsy, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to do this to you."

McGee was in autopsy when he heard someone in there. He immediately recognized the voice as Abby's. He moved back into the shadows when he heard her coming towards the door. McGee waited until Abby was on the elevator before he entered autopsy. He hesitated only slightly before opening up the door and pulling out the drawer that contained Ari's body. Tim looked down at Ari's body for a second before speaking. "I have never been this close to a terrorist before. I must admit, thanks to you, I have had quite a thorough education on terrorism. Kate surprised me when she motioned for me to lower my gun. I didn't know what she would do. I couldn't imagine she would let you go free, but at that point I wasn't sure. I should never have doubted her for a second. I loved the look on your face when she stabbed you. I know she didn't have to stab you and shoot you. Both wounds were fatal, but I understand she needed to do what she hadn't in…" McGee paused and turned around looking at the empty room. "in this very room, as a matter of fact." Tim then turned back to Ari's body. "The shot in the head, I'm sure, was to let you know how she felt about what you did to Tony. Tony will make it, Ari." Tim pushed the drawer in. "You lost. Game over." Tim closed the door and exited autopsy.

Tony's doctor removed the chest tubes on the fourth day, in a surgery which lasted an hour and a half. She reversed the coma on the same day. When Tony opened his eyes it was 5 hours later. He coughed weakly to clear his throat. The breathing tube had been removed the day before, but his throat was still sore. Tony opened his mouth to speak. All that came out was a weak groan. The entire team, including the director, was there. They all turned to look at Tony when they heard him.

Abby, who was already holding his hand, squeezed it tightly when she saw that he was awake. "Hey, Tony."

Tony tried again. His throat was dry, but he managed a couple of words. "Kate? Tim?"

Gibbs took his other hand. "They are both OK, Tony. Ari never did anything to them." Gibbs then stepped aside and Tim and Kate moved to Tony's beside. Tony lifted his hand to Kate's, which was resting on the bedrail on the side opposite Abby. He took her hand and squeezed it gently. He smiled at McGee.

Two months after the incident, Tony was back at work.

"Hey, Tony." McGee said smiling when he saw Tony get off of the elevator. McGee patted him on the back.

"Tony," Kate said, she touched his arm. "Glad you're back." She smiled.

Tony looked from McGee to Kate and back. "What's wrong? What's going on here?"

"What?" Kate asked.

"You're being nice." Tony said, sitting his backpack on the floor beside his desk. "Stop it. You're freaking me out."

"DiNozzo," Gibbs walked over to Tony's desk as Tony sat down. "I'm glad you're back." He then spoke to the whole team. "We have a dead marine in Shenandoah. Let's move." Kate and McGee grabbed their bags. DiNozzo remained seated. "Tony, go see Abby. But be careful, she knows you're back."

Tony made his way to the lab, a little apprehensive about his favorite Goth and her monster hugs.

THE END


End file.
